9

McQueen

It's lap 201, and Adelaide and Caleb are getting far. However, Sara and Henry are gaining on them. At least Storm's not that condescending and doesn't attack on a personal level. Wait, never mind, he did that to Cruz at the Florida 500. However, he didn't act like that toward Cruz.

I don't mind Storm calling me old. Never mind, I take it back. He caused my crash, I had to train faster than him. At least, I retired. I can never beat Storm. At least, Cruz grasped the opportunity. Curse you, Storm, for slamming Cruz to a wall! Good thing, the kids can give him some karma!

Sara Stephans on the other hand could be…worse than Storm. You think you're special, Sara?! Everyone can race! My kids can race! They belong on the racetrack! We're modern racers! Let's be civil. Try me, Sara, but you can't put Adelaide and Caleb down.

Adelaide and Caleb pass the first turn from this lap. However, the kids are still stuck in their respective places. The situation fills me with worry. These competitors are so mean. Chick Hicks was annoying, but they're taking this to another level. Well, Sara Stephans and Henry Moore might be taking this of course.

"Cruz, how are the kids doing?" I ask.

"Can you please give me a few minutes?" Cruz asks.

Chick Hicks tried to insult me but it backfired on him. He'll never get first place. You're just a runner up to the King and nothing else. You'll never learn true winning ever again. Chick Hicks won the LA race, but everyone looked down on him. My loss was a great loss, and I proved my humility to myself

My humility gave me the friends I deserved. I spent a worthwhile week with them. Cruz became my friend, and she got what she wanted. Now, I have Adelaide, Caleb, and Zachary by my side.

Cruz became a member of the Hudson Hornet Legacy I created. I would thank Doc for everything. I miss him, but he's gone. Our training years are over. I'm in a brand new beginning with all my loved ones. I still won't forget you, but I can't mourn for you too much. It's all for you. It's all for you, Doc. Cruz is the new crew chief, and Adelaide and Caleb are the racers. Cruz doesn't seem to be doing well.

Cruz listens on the headset and monitors everything going on, but her face looks paranoid. Cruz's face looks like she's seen someone crashed. Perhaps someone who crashed. Her face looks like she had enough.

Everyone at the pit stop including Cruz panics. This sport is much more brutal than before. Luigi and Guido push shelves of tires to the front while Fillmore and Sarge gather gas. Mater taps me on the side, and Sally pays attention to the screen as well.

Zachary parks himself in a corner, and I approach him. However, Zachary doesn't steer around. He probably has something against Adelaide. Does he? Zachary seems thrilled with getting Adelaide in trouble during Cruz's second to last season.

Brielle watches the screen and cheers Adelaide and Caleb on. Everyone else pays attention to the screen after they organize everything. Some were dead silent while others cheered on. Cruz still continues coaching Adelaide and Caleb.

I've got a bad feeling about this. Cruz wouldn't look like this, but something's a little off. Adelaide and Caleb are stuck under Sara and Henry's meanness. These competitors seem willing to hit my kids. They all pass the second turn.

Everyone's probably halfway by now. The racers keep on speeding along the track. A few racers fall behind on the turn, but they catch up. Sara and Henry are away from Adelaide and Caleb for now, but they catch up. I sigh.

Leah Tran isolates herself from everyone. Leah seems mysterious. She hasn't messed with Caleb and Adelaide. Caleb and Cruz encountered her, but they might be wrong. They might be far from knowing Leah. Cruz pants and stares at me.

"Caleb's being bullied," Cruz says.

"What were they doing?" I ask.

"Name calling. They were calling him a 'wuss.'"

"Wuss?!"

What did she just say? How dare you pick on my son?! Caleb's far from that. He's strong in his own way. That word is very hurtful for Caleb since he was strong in his own way. No one in town would do such a thing.

Everyone in town treats each other with respect. They gave me that respect after staying there for one week. Even Sally, Mater, Doc, and Cruz treated me with respect. Well, Adelaide…has definitely treated me with respect.

Is Adelaide alright? Cruz hasn't mentioned anything about her. Was she doing well? Caleb for sure isn't doing fine. Poor, Caleb. Caleb doesn't deserve this, and he doesn't deserve any of the torture at all. All of the racers pass the third turn.

Everyone at the pit stop watches the screen. Guido gets into a fight with a pit crew member from Mood Spings. Luigi stops them from letting this happen. Sally, Mater, and I drive toward the front of the pit stop. Adelaide and Caleb pass pit row. Are they alright?

So far, Cruz got some news about Caleb. However, what's going on with Adelaide? Cruz hasn't gotten anything about Adelaide. Is Sara messing with Adelaide on the track? Is Henry making things worse by helping Sara? What's going on with Adelaide?

Is Adelaide alright? What's going on with Adelaide? Is she in trouble? Well, she's probably in trouble as in "she's being chased down by a bunch of racers." It's not so bad, right? Well, she acts like this when it comes to the legacy. However, Adelaide shouldn't. She shouldn't act like this. Wouldn't she be just kind like Sally or Cruz? Was I wrong before? Like father, like daughter. We have a lot in common.

I deserve moving on from this. It doesn't matter. If Adelaide's happy, then, I'm happy. This applies to my other kids as well. Adelaide, Caleb, and Zachary have everything. I gave them everything. Adelaide…she's just…Caleb…he's fine. Zachary…he's just…

They all pass the fourth turn. They're almost done with another lap, but Adelaide and Caleb still fall behind from the competitors. This will not turn out well. Adelaide and Caleb need to find a way to pass the leaders, or else…

"What about Adelaide?" I ask.

"She's alright…for now," Cruz says.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

I monitor the lap counter tower. One lap passes, and Adelaide and Caleb move further one place. They're in the top tens. Phew, top ten, not bad. At least building themselves up to the top can help them with winning. I did the same at the Florida Five Hundred.

Ten more competitors away. It isn't so bad. The kids could pass some more racers. They could reach it. I believe in them, and I believe in them just like how I believed in Cruz. If Cruz and I could beat some racers in our younger days, then Adelaide and Caleb would. They're determined to race under the Hudson Hornet Legacy. Well, Adelaide's definitely determined, but Caleb on the other hand…

Adelaide and Caleb have seen Cruz race on TV or in person, and they also watch Cruz train at Willy's Butte. They should know. Do they? They'd be doomed. They'd be doomed if they crashed. They don't deserve it. I'm not wishing bad on them. However, it might not look good.

I check on Cruz. A lap passes again, and I still check on the they progress? Are Sara's bullying and mocking blocking them from progress? What's going on? Adelaide and Caleb's debut doesn't seem like a good debut. It seems like a worse one. Could things get even worse?

"Cruz, what place are Adelaide and Caleb in?" I ask.

"They're in the same place as before," Cruz says.

"Wait? Before?!"

"Apparently."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

Adelaide's on screen. What's going on, kiddos? However, Sara and Henry start name calling and laughing. This sure looks funny. Not! It's not funny! It's downright mean and nasty! It's so downright mean and nasty, and no one is laughing. No one chuckles at this. Sara and Henry continue on and on regardless.

I'm not surprised with Henry siding with Sara. I guess IGNTR likes to hire rude competitors. Jackson Storm's awful, and he sponsored IGNTR. I'm surprised that Mood Springs accepted Sara. None of the racers who work for Mood Springs have anything against me.

The only competitors I dealt with were from IGNTR and Hostile Takeover Bank. Jackson Storm sponsored IGNTR while Chick Hicks sponsored Hostile Takeover Bank, and these two competitors were on my nerves. They were on my nerves so much, and they took their anger out on me. Well, Chick Hicks was annoying, but Jackson Storm was just…

The competitors are a lot worse with all of these insults. Is Sara like this, or is she just flat out against us? Find another racer to mess with, not my kids! Don't mess with my kids like this! How awful.

"Are you lost, Little Dirt Peasant?!" Sara says in her baby voice and chases Adelaide, "Dirt racers like you and the wuss shouldn't be on fancy asphalt!"